European Commission distances itself from Commissioner's remarks on Morocco

The European commission distanced itself from the remarks made by European commissioner, Dutch Frtis Bolkestein, questioning Morocco's involvement in the fight against terrorism and calling the Kingdom to take a clear stand on terrorism.

The remarks were made at a "personal level" and do not reflect the European Commission stand, said on Thursday a spokesman of the EC.

These remarks do not reflect the opinion of the EC chairman, Romano Prodi, said Marco Vignudelli, assistant-spokesman of the commission.

Bolkestein, European commissioner in charge of internal market, taxation and customs Union, and former leader of the Dutch liberal party had expressed on Sunday doubts about Morocco's involvement in the fight against international terror, following the murder of Dutch director, Theo van Gogh, murdered in Amsterdam on Tuesday, November 2nd. The 47-year-old film director and publicist was shot and stabbed several times by his assassin on the streets of the Dutch capital.

Morocco had strongly rejected Bolkestein's statements and greeted "the lucid and responsible" stand of the Dutch government.

"How can Mr. Bolkestein, member of the European Commission, be unaware of the constant and firm position the Kingdom has on terrorism, and its resolved and unambiguous engagement in this field, which is subject, moreover, of thorough and fruit-bearing dialogue with the European Union and its Member States?" wondered Morocco's delegate minister of foreign affairs and cooperation, Taib Fassi Fihri.

How can the European commissioner "be unaware that it is a global threat, transcending nationalities?" he went on.

Morocco also invited the European commission to contribute to the reflection on the objectives, conditions and system effectiveness of foreign communities integration in European societies and to wonder about the reasons of the development, in his country, of a radical Islamism, alien to the culture and values of Morocco.